When will the NSW Government stop shielding and protecting the cruel greyhound racing industry?

Today in Parliament, Abigail supported a further order for papers to force transparency over long-known allegations of abuse, bullying and misconduct within the cruel greyhound racing industry, condemning the government and regulators for secrecy and failure to act.

Abigail said:

I speak in support of this further order for papers as the animal welfare spokesperson for The Greens. I thank the Hon. Emma Hurst for continuing to push for transparency on this issue. It is incredibly alarming that in the past year it has been revealed that the Minister has for years been aware of serious allegations of physical and sexual abuse, as well as bullying and inappropriate conduct, within the greyhound racing industry and yet decided to sweep those allegations under the carpet. To make matters worse, the Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission appears to still be refusing to comply with an order of the House to produce documents relating to such serious matters. I note that this further order now requires the release of documents in the possession, custody or control of GWIC, as well as the Public Service Commissioner, relating to complaints, allegations, claims, incidents or discussions of abuse.

The Government's own Drake inquiry heard evidence about allegations of systemic bullying, abuses of power, impropriety, inappropriate conduct and inappropriate terminations of employment within the greyhound racing industry. In her final report, Acting Commissioner Drake commented on how long those issues have been on the Minister's desk and highlighted the concerning absence of an adequate reporting framework for such allegations. Acting Commissioner Drake said:

These complaints did not have a clear pathway under the current regulatory arrangements, and while they sometimes arrived at the desk of the Minister, the Minister had few statutory options to address them.

The Drake inquiry also heard extensive evidence about how Greyhound Racing NSW has essentially been allowed to act as a law unto itself, despite being propped up by significant amounts of public money. I note that Acting Commissioner Drake made several recommendations relating to Greyhound Racing NSW's governance and status, including calling for the organisation to be brought under adequate public scrutiny and oversight, as well as calling on the Government to address its ambiguous legal status as a body corporate established by statute but not owned by the State, the consequent absence of corporate control and accountability ordinarily brought about by an ownership structure, and the non-application to Greyhound Racing NSW of laws covering public sector entities, designed to support accountability, transparency, integrity and public trust.

As many of us long predicted, the Minns Labor Government has ignored the vast majority of the evidence revealed through this inquiry and rejected many of the recommendations made by Acting Commissioner Drake. The greyhound racing industry has no social licence and is being increasingly rejected by communities across the State, and yet the Minns Labor Government continues to provide cover for this cruel and corrupt industry at every turn. It is only a matter of time before the Government is faced with no choice but to shut greyhound racing down for good. Until that day, The Greens will continue fighting alongside communities, advocates and experts for the Government to deliver public transparency, accountability and scrutiny of the greyhound racing industry. We support the motion.

Read the transcript in Hansard here.

4 February 2026

PUBLIC ENERGY FOR PUBLIC GOOD - SIGN THE PETITION!

Electricity is an essential service. But Labor and Liberal governments have sold off NSW’s energy assets and infrastructure, leaving us at the mercy of the private sector for our energy needs. The result has been soaring energy bills, with more and more people being forced into energy poverty.

A privatised energy system will never deliver a cheap and clean energy network - It’s time to take the power back.

As we transition to 100% renewable energy, we must learn from the mistakes of privatisation, ensure our energy assets are kept in public hands, and rein in the actions of private operators.

Communities across NSW have for too long been at the mercy of privatised power network operators who continue to put profit above people, acting recklessly and cutting corners without regard for community expectations.

Recent catastrophic power outages in regional NSW have made headlines for just this - in Broken Hill, the state’s only 100% privatised transmission network operator has failed to deliver a safe and secure energy network, leaving communities in the dark because of mismanagement and neglect in the pursuit of profit.

To build our case for bringing electricity back into public ownership, the Greens are calling for a public parliamentary inquiry into all NSW power network operators, their operation and corporate decision-making practices.

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When will the NSW Government stop shielding and protecting the cruel greyhound racing industry?

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